If I say "Mi construas ĝin" for "I construct it", how do I say "it is being constructed" and "it was constructed"? *thinks I should know this already, but I don't remember running into it before*

DesertNaiad:If I say "Mi construas ĝin"

("konstruas". "construas" would sound like "tzonstruas", and as far as I know it doesn't exist).

how do I say "it is being constructed"

Ĝi estas en konstruo

or,

Ĝi estas konstruata = it is being constructed; it is in the process of being constructed; the action of construction is underway, pertinent to the present, not complete.

and "it was constructed"?

Ĝi konstruiĝis = it became constructed, it was made constructed;

Ĝi estis konstruata = it was under construction, it was being constructed;

Ĝi estis konstruita = it was constructed (the action of construction was already complete).

All this is for fancy compound verb tenses, which are really used only when you feel the need to specify clearly the time and state of the action.

Depending on the amount of detail I have to give, I could even go with a "oni konstruis ĝin", which could be just as good in at least a few cases.

I hope I could help. If you feel you need a more detailed clarification just ask.

Thank you very much!

mnlg:
("konstruas". "construas" would sound like "tzonstruas", and as far as I know it doesn't exist).

Sorry about that, it was an unconscious mispelling. I'm finding myself typing "me" for "mi", and "kay" for "kaj" a lot too. *blushes*

mnlg:
All this is for fancy compound verb tenses, which are really used only when you feel the need to specify clearly the time and state of the action.

On the advice of my Ana Pana tutor (one of many great suggestions she gave me) I'm practicing by translating song lyrics, and then will post them here to ask for help correcting my errors, of which there will be a great many, I'm sure. Trying to be true to the feeling of the lyrics, there probably will be quite a few oddly phrased ideas. The original phrase I had the question about is "Where Hydrogen is built into Helium" so I didn't want to use a simple verb like iĝas.

Thank you again for your help!

DesertNaiad:Thank you very much!

Ne dankinde

I'm finding myself typing "me" for "mi", and "kay" for "kaj" a lot too. *blushes*

Don't worry too much. You will solve these mistakes by yourself in no time after a little practice.

I'm practicing by translating song lyrics, and then will post them here to ask for help correcting my errors, of which there will be a great many, I'm sure.

My first suggestion as my students finish their course is to get a penpal, preferably not a beginner, and preferably someone with which you would end up sharing only Esperanto as a common language, so that there's no temptation to resort to yours when things get difficult (I realize this requirement is much more difficult to meet for native English speakers). I considerably improved my knowledge of English by translating song lyrics so that's a good suggestion as well.

The original phrase I had the question about is "Where Hydrogen is built into Helium"

"(tie) kie hidrogeno (al)heliumiĝas" ?

so I didn't want to use a simple verb like iĝas.

I seldom find "iĝi" by itself, I usually find it in the form of "fariĝi", and only in a handful of cases, because you would generally attach the suffix -iĝ- to the main verb stem itself.

It can indeed be a simple operation, in some way, but it is also one of the most powerful Esperanto suffixes and it is very widely used. Of course I would encourage you to grow your own style, but you don't really have to consider such verbs as poor choices.

mnlg:
My first suggestion as my students finish their course is to get a penpal, preferably not a beginner, and preferably someone with which you would end up sharing only Esperanto as a common language, so that there's no temptation to resort to yours when things get difficult (I realize this requirement is much more difficult to meet for native English speakers). I considerably improved my knowledge of English by translating song lyrics so that's a good suggestion as well.

That was also one of erinja's suggestions, and when I'm a little better at esperanto I will probably look for a penpal. I haven't even finished the first Ana Pana course yet, and I'm still mostly fumbling about in the dark. I thought you were a native English speaker, by the way.

"(tie) kie hidrogeno (al)heliumiĝas"

Is the "tie" one of the implied words, or must it be stated? I think that reads "There, where hydrogen is converted into helium"?

I seldom find "iĝi" by itself, I usually find it in the form of "fariĝi", and only in a handful of cases, because you would generally attach the suffix -iĝ- to the main verb stem itself.

Oh, that explains a lot! I'm still getting used to the suffix and prefix system in Esperanto, and didn't even think to check the suffix tables. I know that English has prefixes and suffixes, but I've not spent much conscious time thinking about them as independent entities. I'm actually learning more about English grammar from studying Esperanto than I did in school. There seemed to be no point to it when I was in grade school and high school. Now I find that I need to know what a correlative is and does, to understand why korelativoj behave as they do.

At any rate, thank you once more. *smiles*

DesertNaiad:I thought you were a native English speaker, by the way.

Thanks, but, no, I'm not.

Is the "tie" one of the implied words, or must it be stated? I think that reads "There, where hydrogen is converted into helium"?

No, it doesn't have to be there. I thought the line was subsequent to another in which a certain place is introduced and the "where" would link to that. (I don't really recognize that song...)

I added the "tie" because otherwise it looked too much like a question without a question mark.

I'm actually learning more about English grammar from studying Esperanto than I did in school.

This is a rather familiar result when learning a foreign language. I think Goethe said something like "He who doesn't know a foreign language, doesn't know his own".
Because of its relatively easier grammar (could I use "sleek" in this context?), Esperanto has been proven to be of help to learn other languages and to get a better awareness of how a language works.

At any rate, thank you once more.

I'm happy I could help!

DesertNaiad:

"(tie) kie hidrogeno (al)heliumiĝas"

Is the "tie" one of the implied words, or must it be stated? I think that reads "There, where hydrogen is converted into helium"?

It should be stated in normal conversation.

Ili estas tie, kie la altaj arboj estas. = They are (there) where the tall trees are.

However, in a song, or in poetry, you have much more flexibility. For a song you could use tie or not depending on how it fit with the rythm/rhyme of the song.

Also, you may know this, but in poetry and song you are allowed to drop the final o on nouns and replace it with an apostrophe (in those cases the o is not pronounced). Similarly, the a in "la" can be replaced with an apostrophe.

For example, consider a phrase like "The golden calf"
(something odd off the top of my head *grin*)

you could say la ora bovido

but in poetry/song you could also choose to say
l'ora bovid'

Note: in these cases you pronounce the word (accent on the second to the last syllable) as if the o were still there)

thus l'ora bovid' would be LOH-ra bo-VEED.

Oh, that explains a lot! I'm still getting used to the suffix and prefix system in Esperanto, and didn't even think to check the suffix tables. I know that English has prefixes and suffixes, but I've not spent much conscious time thinking about them as independent entities.

The system of affixes is among Esperanto's more remarkable features. There are two really cool things about them. One is that you can use them as independent words just by giving them the appropriate ending. Here's an example, You probably know mal = the prefix which gives the root it modifies an opposite meaning. You can also turn it into and adjective

mala vidpunkto = a contrary (opposite) viewpoint

or an adverb with the -e ending.

male, mi ŝatas kukojn. = On the contrary, I like cakes. (watch out for pronunciation though, that's MAH-leh.)

The other really cool thing about them is that you can use them with any roots where they make sense. This lets you express very fine shades of meaning in a very elegant and compact way.

I'm actually learning more about English grammar from studying Esperanto than I did in school. There seemed to be no point to it when I was in grade school and high school. Now I find that I need to know what a correlative is and does, to understand why korelativoj behave as they do.

This was my experience as well. I have a much deeper understanding of English grammar because I learned Esperanto. That was a benefit I hadn't expected, but it was a very nice surprise.

Yes waxle, I am a They Might Be Giants fan.

awake:
Also, you may know this, but in poetry and song you are allowed to drop the final o on nouns and replace it with an apostrophe (in those cases the o is not pronounced). Similarly, the a in "la" can be replaced with an apostrophe.

For example, consider a phrase like "The golden calf"
(something odd off the top of my head *grin*)

you could say la ora bovido

but in poetry/song you could also choose to say
l'ora bovid'

Note: in these cases you pronounce the word (accent on the second to the last syllable) as if the o were still there)

thus l'ora bovid' would be LOH-ra bo-VEED.

No, I didn't know that, and thanks! It's like saying o'er in English poetry, and such, I take it?

Thanks for all the other pertinent data too. *off to rewrite my lyrics translation*